1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to assistive communication devices. More specifically the invention is directed to devices, systems, and methods that enable or assist individuals with cognitive and/or physical delays or impairments to communicate in an academic as well as conversational setting.
2. Description of Related Art
Typical children attend school, and typical adults go to work, and perform a variety of tasks such as answering questions (true/false, fill in the blank, multiple choice, etc.), writing, doing linear arithmetic, doing vertical arithmetic, and the like. There are a number of atypical children and adults who for one reason or another cannot perform these tasks in a conventional manner using a writing implement and paper, or a keyboard and computer, or their voices.
One possible reason may be related to the individual's motor skills. Motor skills are motions carried out when the brain, nervous system, and muscles work together. Fine motor skills are small movements—such as grabbing something with your thumb and forefinger—that use the small muscles of the fingers, toes, wrists, lips, and tongue. Gross motor skills are the bigger movements—such as running and jumping—that use the large muscles in the arms, legs, torso, and feet. Gross motor skills are defined as the movements of the large muscles of the body. Thus, manipulating a pen or pencil or a conventional keyboard requires significant fine motor coordination, whereas hitting a large button with the palm or side of a hand falls under the category of a gross motor skill. Some individuals have fine motor coordination difficulties that make it impossible to wield a pen or type on a conventional qwerty keyboard. In addition or in the alternative, other individuals have speech impairments that may hinder or outright preclude the person from speaking in a conventional manner.
Yet having difficulty communicating is hardly indicative of not having anything to say. Often with certain assistive devices, atypical individuals are able to communicate with others. Several devices exist in this field, for example, the TANGO™ device, sold by DYNAVOX MAYER-JOHNSON of Pittsburgh, Pa. The TANGO™ device is a small device, roughly 8″ by 3″, and attachable to a wheelchair and includes several small primary buttons along with several other small control buttons. All of the controls of the TANGO™ device are small (certainly given the small overall size of the device) and are intended to be operated by the user's fingers. The small or fine motor coordination required to do so is well beyond the ability of many disabled children and also beyond the ability of those adults with fine motor coordination difficulties. Another drawback of the TANGO™ device is that it is focused on casual communication and preset phrases that are grouped together by topic for quick but unoriginal communication. Original speech that evinces the user's conversational style is not a main objective of the TANGO™ device. Additionally, the main display is one line of text. This prevents a user from communicating in any two-dimensional manner, e.g., performing vertical arithmetic, drawing, or the like.
Other assistive communication devices include the DYNAVOX MAESTRO™, the ECO2 made by Prentke Romich of Wooster, Ohio, and the SONO KEY™ made by Tobii Technology of Danderyd, Sweden. These are substantially similar devices that suffer from common deficiencies. For one, like the TANGO™ device, all of these devices are small, making them difficult to operate for those with poor fine motor control. Each of these devices has a single screen ranging from 9″ to 15″ with unlimited on-screen buttons that lack any tactile feedback. Further, the location and size of these onscreen buttons are set up by the person who sets up the communication board for the user. This often creates an inconsistency in the location of the control buttons and that can work at cross purposes with the end user. Relatedly, these devices require advanced thought by the operator to assemble boards for each choice/lesson, etc. A supervisory operator must spend time customizing each board for the user to have maximum success.
Accordingly, there is a long-felt need to provide an assistive communication device suitable for those with all levels of physical and cognitive ability that can be easily set up and used “out of the box” and provide original communication capabilities, not limited to single lines of text or preset words or phrases.
Additionally, there is a long-felt need to provide an assistive communication device or system for use in an academic setting. Currently, there are no devices for the disabled user to perform tasks that are asked of a typically developing child in a school setting. These tasks include: editing written work, preparing and revising lengthy written papers that include footnotes; composing creative writing with chapters and/or atypical punctuation or formatting (such as poetry); solving complex arithmetic and algebraic problems; graphing the results of a science experiment; drawing and painting without assistance; and composing music, to name a few. These tasks are all activities that we expect of typical children in school (indeed, many are required by standard curricula) but are dismissed as out of reach of the physically disabled by all of the other assistive communication devices.